Sheet pulp feeder



Sept. 7, 1954 E. K. HAAS SHEET PULP FEEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1952 FIG.1A.

FIG. 1.

44 43 OIL PUMP [imam/1% V-S. 7*

EDWIN K. MAS

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Sept. 7, 1954 E. K. HAAS SHEET PULP FEEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12. 1952 EDWIN KHAAS INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS a Patented Sept. 7, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE SHEET PULP FEEDER Application April 12, 1952, Serial No. 281,983

7 Claims.

1 This invention relates to a sheet pulp feeder, and particularly to a mechanism which is well suited to feed relatively small increments from a bale of sheet pulp and into a hydra-pulper or heater. In the purification of paper stock, the bales of sheet pulp frequently contain 85 or 86% of u-cellulose and, for certain grades of photographic paper, it is preferable to use 94%, which means that the stock must be further treated before it is flowed out onto a making wire. This may be done by treating the stock with a caustic soda solution to break down the B and 'y cellulose after which the cellulose may be washed. In order to perform a continuous process, it is desirable to continuously feed sheets of pulp into a refining stream of alkaline liquor so that the cellulose may flow continuously in this stream as the refining of the stock takes place.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide a sheet pulp feeder which will feed relatively small increments from a bale one at a time and at a controllable uniform rate into a hydra-pulper so that a uniform continuous purifying operation can be performed. Another object of my invention is to provide a means for raising a bale of pulp at a uniform rate so that the amount of paper fed by the feeder can be made substantially uniform. A further object of my invention is to provide a machine adapted to lift one or more sheets from a paper bale and to slide the sheets across a barrier and into a hydra-pulper. A still further object of my invention is to provide a device of the class described which will satisfactorily handle relatively stiff, or reltaively limp, pulp sheets as well as one which can satisfactorily move sheets from a bale which may be extremely hard after having been frozen. A still further object of my invention is to provide a machine in which substantially uniform increments may be continuously fed and in which the size of the increments can be readily altered by varying the speed of operation of an elevator relative to the speed of operation of the pulp sheet engaging member. Other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout Fig. l is a side elevation, partially in section, of a sheet pulp feeder constructed in accordance with and embodying a preferred form of my invention. Many of the unessential details of the machine are omitted and parts are schematically shown;

Fig. 1A is a fragmentary top plan view of the pulp sheet engaging member;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the upper portion only of the sheet pulp feeder;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail part-side elevation, part section, of the pulp sheet engaging member moving a group of sheets from the bale of pulp sheets across a barrier and into a vat; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showin the pul sheet engaging member moving a soft sheet which may tend to Wrinkle or fold but which may nevertheless be satisfactorily moved by a mechanism which will be hereinafter more fully described.

My invention consists broadly in providing a mechanism for elevating a bale of pulp at a controllable uniform rate so that a pulp feeder may move successive increments from the top of the bale into a processing device such as a hydrapulper. By adjusting the relative speed of movement of the elevator carrying the bale of sheet pulp relative to the speed of movement of the sheet pulp engaging member, the amount of pulp deposited in the processing apparatus is substantially constant. If the number of sheets fed is at times greater than at other times, such as may occur through sticking of the sheets, this is immaterial because a smaller and proper amount will be fed on the next successive movement of the sheet engaging member. Thus, the feed is substantially constant throughout the movement of the bale of sheet pulp even though there may be slight differences at times between the number of sheets fed at each stroke of the apparatus.

As indicated in Fig. l, the sheet pulp feeder may comprise a frame I which may be carried by a support such as a wall 2 which extends upwardly from a floor 3, this frame supporting a shelf l. On this shelf, there is a motor '5 which may be provided with a fixed built-in gear reduction enclosed in the housing 6 so that a shaft 7 may be driven at a predetermined number of revolutions per minute such as four. The shaft i may drive a crank 8, this crank being pivotally attached at 9 to a lever arm ill. This lever arm may consist of a plate ll of sheet metal, ribbed at i2 to strengthen it and provided with a hearing H3 at the top and bearings M at the bottom.

On the lower end of the lever arm [0 there is a pulp sheet engaging member l5 which, as shown in Fig. 1A, may consist of a member L- shaped in cross-section, the upper portion [6 of which may be attached as by bolts H to the lower end of the lever arm 10. The pulp sheet engaging member is preferably provided with a sharpened edge it which is preferably rounded so that it may readily pass in between sheets S of the bale B of sheet pulp to move a number of these sheets at a time to the hydra-pulper or refiner. The lever arm It is also provided with bearings I4 supporting a shaft by which it is pivoted to a link 2i which may be ribbed at 22 for strength and which carries bearings 23 to support the shaft fill. There are also bearings 24 at the top of the link 2i to turn about a shaft 25 which is supported in bearings 26 carried by the frame i.

This link 2i may be in the form of a plate hav ing a cut-out at the lower portion 21; 'When the reduced speed shaft l is turned by motor 5, a flexible cOupling as (Fig. 2) turns the shaft '7' 'coaxial with shaft 7 to operate the crank 3. This causes the sheet engaging member l5 to move through the closed and oval path P as illustrated in Fig. l, the sheet engaging member [5 moving outwardly and upwardly after engaging an increment or the bale to move this increment over a barrier and into a chute leading to the pulp processor. The outward and upward strokes slide the front ends of the sheets 8 over the barrier 35 as indicated in Fig. 3. A number of these sheets are moved at a time and they will automatically, as indicated in Fig. 3, move smoothly into the vat. On the other hand, if soft pulp is used, these sheets may at times be extremely'limp and may roll or fold over without sliding over the adjacent sheets into the barrier. To overcome this possible difficulty, I have provided in the present instance a pair of outwardly-extending rods spaced above the pulp sheet-engaging member !5. Normally, these rods do not touch the sheets being moved but, on the other hand, where an extremely soft sheet is used, if the sheets tend to roll up, the rods 36 which lie above the pulp sheet engaging member prevent them from buckling to such an extent that they can successfull be moved over the barrier 35 and into the processing apparatus.

It might be pointed out here that there are a number of different grades of sheet pulp, some of these sheets being comparatively hard and rigid and other sheets being quite soft. In addition, where sheet pulp bales which have been stored outside in winter are brought in, the moisture in the .oeets may be sufficient for the bale to be frozen hard so that a great deal of force is necessary to cause the sheet-engaging member '15 to penetrate the bale and tear off a group of frozen sheets. By providing a constant speed drive for motor 5 and a gear reduction 6 of the desired rates, this can be readily obtained.

The bale B of sheet material is carried by an elevator do, this elevator being preferably carried by a plunger ll passing into an oil cylinder It. The oil cylinder may be operated by a motor as which is a variable speed motor and this motor operate a constant displacement oil pump dd so that oil from a tank may pass through the oil filter 1-6, ipe il, pipe l8, relief valve as and into the cylinder 42 through the pipes and 5|. Thus, the speed of motor 43 controls the rate of rise of the elevator 40. This may be controlled by a handle 52 and by operating a switch 53 on the panel board 54. Conductors 55 and 56 lead from this switch to the motor 43, and SI diagrammatically indicates a speed controller which in actual practice would be mounted on the panel board 54. If desirable, a

separate switch 51 may be operated to operate the motor :23 independently or" the motor 5. Normally, however, the motor 5 is operated through the switch and through conductors 58 and 59. Here, again, a separate switch i5!) is provided so that either motor may be operated independently.

When the bale B has been consumed, there is a plug cock which may be quickly operated by lever 66 and rod 6'! to open the line through pipes 5i and 68 permitting the oil to rapidly return into the tank 65, thus causing the elevator id to move quickly downwardly and level with the floor v. The skid 1i! having feet H then be quickly removed from elevator 40 and a fresh skid and bale of sheet pulp moved into place on the elevator. The plug cock 65 may then be shut and the elevator will immediately start to rise at the set speed again. Thus, the motors 5 and #23 may continue to run during this operation, or they may be stopped by switch 53 or switches 51 and 453, although this is not necessary or generally desirable. Obviously, the amount of pulp fed by this apparatus is determined by the relative speed of the elevator and the pulp sheet-engaging memher it. In the present instance, however, I have shown this speed differential as being obtainable through the variable speed of the motor 53, but it is also possible to have the elevator move at a fixed speed and vary the speed of the motor 5. However, the preferred form is shown since it is much simpler to use a variable speed with a constant displacement oil pump than it is to vary th speed of the relatively heavy moving parts which carry the pulp sheet-engaging member.

It might also be pointed out that my machine has Worked quite satisfactory without the parallel rods 36 extending above the pulp sheetengagmg member l5, and these may be omitted if desired. However, I have found it worth while to have these rods on the machine so that in the comparatively few cases where feeding does not occur properly without these rods due to soft sheets that the rods will be present and no special attention need be given the machine when soft sheets are being used.

'From the above description, I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention which is satisfactory in operation and which is successful moving small increments from a bale of sheet pulp at a substantially constant rate. As various embodiments will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, I consider as within the scope of my invention all such forms as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

l. A machine for feeding sheets of pulp from a bale into a treating apparatus comprising an elevator for raising a bale of pulp at a predetermined speed, a barrier adjacent the elevator, a frame, a pulp sheet engaging member, a lever arm carrying the member, a rotatable crank pivote'd .to the lever arm, a motor for driving the crank, a link pivoted to the lever arm and to the frame, said link and crank moving the member outwardly and upwardly toward the barrier to .move sheets from the bale thereover and then rearwardly and backwardly above the bale on the elevator whereby groups of sheets may be moved successively over the barrier and into th treat- .ment apparatus.

.2. A machine for feeding sheets of pulp from a halo into a treating apparatus comprising an mined speed, a barrier adjacent the elevator, a frame, a pulp sheet engaging member, a lever arm carrying the member, a rotatable crank pivoted to the lever arm, a motor for driving the crank, a link pivoted to the lever arm and to the frame, said link and crank moving the member outwardly and upwardly toward the barrier to move sheets from the bale thereover and then rearwardly and backwardly above the bale on the elevator whereby groups of sheets may be moved successively over the barrier and into the treatment apparatus, and an anti-curling arm mounted on the lever arm carrying the pulp sheet engaging member and located above the pulp sheet engaging member.

3. A machine for feeding sheets of pulp from a bale into a treating apparatus comprising an elevator for raising a bale of pulp at a predetermined speed, a barrier adjacent the elevator, a frame, a pulp sheet engaging member, a lever arm carrying the member, a rotatable crank pivoted to the lever arm, a motor for driving the crank, a link pivoted to the lever arm and to the frame, said link and crank moving the member outwardly and upwardly toward the barrier to move sheets from the bale thereover and then rearwardly and backwardly above the bale on the elevator whereby groups of sheets may Hoe moved successively over the barrier and into the treatment apparatus, and an anti-curling device mounted on the lever above the pulp sheet engaging 'member and comprising two parallel rods extending over and beyond the pulp sheet engaging member.

4. A machine for feeding sheets of pulp from a bale into a treating apparatus comprising an elevator for raising a bale of pulp at a predetermined speed, a barrier adjacent the elevator, a frame, a pulp sheet engaging member, a lever arm carrying the member, a rotatable crank pivoted to the lever arm, a motor for driving the crank, a link pivoted to the lever arm and to the frame, said link and crank moving the member outwardly and upwardly toward the barrier to move sheets from the bale thereover and then rearwardly and backwardly above the bale on the elevator whereby groups of sheets may be moved successively over the barrier and into the treatment apparatus, and a control for regulating the speed of the elevator relative to the speed of the pulp sheet engaging member.

5. The machine for feeding sheets of pulp from a bale into a treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 characterized in a motor drive for the elevator, a motor drive forthe pulp sheet engaging member and a means for varying the speed of one motor relative to the other.

6. The machine for feeding sheets of pulp from a bale into a treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 characterized in a motor drive for the elevator, a motor drive for the pulp sheet engaging member and means for varying the speed of the motor drive for the elevator relative to the speed of the motor drive for the pulp sheet engaging member.

7. A machine for feeding sheets of pulp from a. bale into a treating apparatus comprising an elevator for raising a bale of 'pulp at a predetermined speed, a barrier adjacent the elevator and to one side thereof,,a frame, a pulp sheet engaging member, a lever arm carrying the pulp sheet engaging member and pivotally supported by two movalble members, one of said members being a crank, a motor for rotating the crank, the other of said members being a link pivotally mounted on the frame, the relationship of the pivotal points, the lever arms, the crank and link being selected to move the pulp sheet engaging member downwardly and upwardly across the elevator as the crank moves through one half a revolution and to move the sheet engaging member back over the elevator and above its outward path as the crank moves through the second half of a revolution whereby successive sheets may be moved from the elevator by the sheet engaging member over the barrier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,246,592 Harvey Nov. 13, 1917 1,847,812 Burton et al. Mar. 1, 1932 1,901,555 Firestone Mar. 14, 1933 2,415,515 McOscar Feb. 11, 1947 

